Optimism, Fear and Progress

Further to my last post (loosely referring to philosophy and/or psychology), I hereby add some other fleetingly considered thoughts. In so doing, I plainly am not elucidating anything more regarding the last post, but oh well.

You can see the analytic philosophy student in me by virtue of the tripartite title of this post. That makes it neither good nor bad (I hope).

I was struck, as I am everyday lately, by the sheer volume of negative hyperbole in the media. The stories of abductions, recessionary losses, job losses, corruption, incompetence, apocalypse and yet another videotape of wannabe celebrities engaging in terminally boring sex. And gas is more expensive (again). Look, we are setting ourselves up for a really bad trip man! Where's the enthusiasm, energy and hope for the future? I know, it's over there in a box being squashed by the sensational, stupid and stultifying.

But it's extremely important that we re-discover it, because we cannot begin to repair our, well, civilization without the wholehearted engagement and enthusiasm of each one of us. And, more than that, a world without optimism is a world lacking in respect, etiquette and innovation. A world which, if not in serious decline, will be shortly, because the prevailing attitude tends to be a leading indicator of what comes next.

If hope, trust and progress begin with optimism, there's no doubt that devolution, conflict an distress begin with corruption- and incompetence-fueled cynicism. Don't get me wrong; my issue is with the cynicism, rather than the cynics, most of whom are merely reacting to the prevailing zeitgeist. And while I love Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert, they point to what's wrong, while we need something point us to what's right.

More: Need for leading indicators... the housing market is a reflection of a banker's fantasy, not reality. We need fewer (many fewer) economists... most are poor political philosophers in disguise, and very few actually understand much about "the economy". As a society, we need to reinvent ourselves, not just our individual institutions, but who and what we are in toto.

If this seems like a rambling, pointless exercise, give me some time. I hope to turn it into something more meaningful.